The Hoarders Anonymous Thread #7. Keep On Keeping On!

[Solo]

We are a mixed group of likeminded householders that are leading somewhat challenging lives; be that living with too much 'stuff' that we find difficult to deal with, houses that are falling apart (mine included), health issues within the family unit, wider family, or ourselves (myself included) that means sorting out our households is challenging, to say the least. So...

You are all welcome to join us for support, adding your own ideas to help others out, storage ideas, and even tips on actually getting those items out of the house which sounds so simple when you say it, but this part can be so very difficult; we are often attached emotionally to our 'things', afraid of letting things go just in case we need them.
Encouragement and support abound here, and we do not criticise. EVER! We even try not to criticise ourselves as it's not helpful to anyone, but this can be very difficult not to do.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by clutter, mess, disorganisation and generally don't know where to start. If you can't be bothered, but really do want to be bothered. If you think you are a bit lazy, or if you just need to see your highs and lows and everything in between on the screen here, join us, and we will help you. We'll virtually high-five your achievements - small or large, and virtually hug you when the need arises, and if you want a hug, just ask because we are here for you, here for one another because we get it. The art of washing up is sometimes our great achievement of the day, but it's still an achievement.

Welcome to thread #7 of Hoarders Anonymous - Keep On Keeping On!

Thread #6 HERE

Oh, I'm envious! Well done you, though :) The odd sock pile is awful! I just know I have the matching socks somewhere probably hidden in amongst the crap!

Oooh! Is it worth having a look at the other decluttering thread?
TBH, I always thought Nordic was well on top of everything. She just seems so sorted somehow. It'd be nice if she popped in to say hello though.

Hi Solo.

Saw your apologies a couple of pages back about mums.

Just to say it wasn't a problem.

Thanks for rounding up the troops.

Not posted because it ain't going well. Still tackling garages. Got rid of four white goods, and a sofa.
Lots of charity bags gone more to go. Lots of rubbish and recycling gone. Lots of compost(collected pinecones and conkers) lots of kids shells and stones from beach.

The kitchen and hall is full of crap from the garage. The flat is absolutely awful.

I am still not at full capacity, still grieving but a lot better than before.
Kid is going through difficult puberty and not sleeping. Trouble with going to school and staying in school. Getting ex to move his stuff is bloody hard work. Currently trying to sort out his conservatory so he can store his and the kids' bikes here.

Getting pissed off by the constant interruptions and farting about. I've managed to unpack two boxes and stash them in his cupboards but it's bloody hard work to keep them on task with it.

Solo, so sorry to here your ME is not so good at the moment. Do u have any friends or family who could help you? People are very kind and most people are happy to help if they know someone is struggling.

Yes if you want to see her updates, she's a frequent poster there. It's called "decluttering progress not perfection" or something like that. I get ideas from it for what to tackle next. They don't seem to be hoarders on that thread, with the odd exception. Although appearances can be deceptive, I suppose.

I had a good look around my home today and realised nothing is clear, I thought the stairs were, but no I've got boxes top and bottom that I didn't count for some reason! So I'm really focused on getting the place nicer. It's clean, all rooms useable for their purpose, I'm not ashamed to have people over. Even if I viewed it from a maximalist mindset it could still look better though. So I'm very slowly decluttering and also I guess I'm churning the hoard, but I'm improving storage all the time so the place is looking better, which is the goal.

I'm doing a no-spend challenge this year too. I got the idea from Hoarder's Heart on YouTube. That's to help stop me bringing stuff in. I have so many multiples of everything, I need to use what I've got until it's down to a manageable level.

I've always seem to dismiss the advice of making lists but having made some for other reasons, I'm quite inclined to and hoping it will help over the next few days.

Hello....long time lurker here. Have struggled with disorganisation/procrastination forever and the state of my home is testament to that. I don't think Im a hoarder, but my inability to sort and tidy and put things away means that everything is a big mess.
I need to have stuff done, stuff which would immeasurably improve the quality of my life, but I can't face the idea of anyone coming round. The horror! I did get some help last year to face up to the worst aspects of my living space, this was hard work but amazing, and for a while I carried on. Inevitably I have ground to a halt. Id like to use them again.
I'm worried that I will live like this for the rest of my life, and grow old with the chaos and the shame, that I will never be able to fight my way out of the hole. I have plenty of time, and have no health problems, I can't point to anything that stops me from getting on top of things, apart from what's in my head.

Hi Moonshaped I think hoarding is in our heads usually rather than being physical. The more I let go of the, easier I find it to do. The only way is to start. If you've got to the point where you can't let anyone in it must be quite bad.

One decision I made was to invest in a lot more storage furniture. I just didn't have enough places for the amount of stuff in my home and that was part of the problem. Things are a lot more organized now although obviously I have needed to declutter too. It's still a work in progress, I've a long way to go yet. My main area of progress is altering my kitchen storage which was higgledy piggledy to something more streamlined and aesthetically pleasing. Combined with the de-hoarding that I'd already done in there the kitchen is looking really nice. I do still have things in there that shouldn't be there but there's currently nowhere else for it to go. All of my rooms are looking a little bit better actually. I hope everyone else is managing some progress

Welcome moonshaped - I thought I had posted a hello before but must have been distracted. Your post really chimes with me.

No progress here really. I got really pissed off one evening last week and chucked some plastic tat but it was from a storage box so no visible change.

I also threw a too-small bra and few pairs of very holey pants into the rag bag. It all seems so pointless but I keep telling myself every item gone is one less thing to deal with.

Thanks for the welcome. I have moved a bit since my first post, I was at a very low ebb at that moment and there's been a turn of the tide in my thinking.
I have had someone round to look at all the work that needs doing! I was so stressed beforehand but he was so matter of fact about it all. Hopefully he's not scared off and will give me an estimate. It's taken ages to arrive at this point. Like @Solo , I've been without a functioning boiler for years because I can't (couldn't?) face the prospect of an engineer coming round. Every broken appliance has caused weeks of stress. I almost got used to the laundrette rather than buy a new washing machine and have it delivered. I bought a mini fridge when my fridge broke rather than face tidying up and cleaning ahead of delivery of a new one.
It sounds crazy when I write it all down. No one knows I live like this, I can hardly believe it myself

Oh wow Moonshaped that sounds so hard. Especially the boiler. I hope you can make progress this year to get your home functional again. Tradesmen won't care, as long as they can get access to wherever they need to, how you live is none of their business

Miaowse I love having space in a box, it means I can put something else in there and there's one less pile of loose stuff hanging around

I started doing maybe one item a month in the beginning and spending weeks over every decision, but now as I've got better at it I'm doing at least one item a week and it's not taking me so long to make the decision either. I'm trusting my judgement more now I know I haven't missed a single thing I've got rid of. I've also made progress bringing less stuff into the home

We set the timer for 20 minutes every evening this week after House of Games and went out and weeded and tidied the garden. It's been looking mad, the weeds have taken over but the 20 minute blasts have had visible difference. Everything clearer and calmer.

My OH has finally - FINALLY - conceded we're never going to be watching videos again. He's talking of getting a box and letting them go. This. Is. Huge.

I enjoy doing the Mrs Hinch Declutter Jar, tho it's occasional not daily. Quite a few books, kitchen debris & makeup out.

But I have not cleaned in so long. Bathroom tomorrow.

What a positive update @JFDIYOLO , it’s lovely to read about your progress.

My garden is in desperate need of some TLC so I should copy your idea.

Thankyou and the tests were ok. 🤗

Brilliant, big relief!

Sticks head in and waves, bit dejectedly. have caught up thread, now somehow have to find the mental and physical energy to start over yet again and build back momentum.
A couple of months ago got horribly unwell again, and hospitalized.
Lost the few muscles I’d built up, and either new medication or stress has caused me to declutter most of my hair.

Life is unfortunately a total mess, as is home. Garden’s a jungle, and I suspect storage not great either, though I haven’t seen that yet. The DIY work I did on Aunts flat has deteriorated though it’s still in better condition than before, but everything’s now covered in a film of dust and her garden is also a jungle.

Flooded storage unit, damage from sewage flood, contractors unfinished work, all still not resolved. Same with vehicle which now has warning notice. I left a mess at work too, as hospital admission came in the middle of physical project, and I’ve had to defer my final exams.

So, so much to sort out, and tbh so tired, both physically and mentally. Hope others are doing better or are many in the doldrums?

JFDIYOLO glad to here your tests were ok.

Over last two days: started clearing up the surface mess DS has created or allowed to accumulate, (where does all the dust come from?) in two months of living without doing more than the most basic housework. He's been living off take aways but has been taking his personal washing to launderette at least.

So yesterday and today: changed beds, cleaned out rotten bin, cleared and cleaned fridge, started on kitchen worktops, brushed (poorly) and mopped floors, but all just first passes.

Two black bags of accumulated rubbish and off food, and a damaged clock gone. Am having to really pace myself to not mess myself up.
Going to work this afternoon to clear up and possibly out.

How lovely to see you back on the thread Elleherd How are you feeling? Do not overdo it! Is your DS amenable to doing some of the work?

Hi Miaowse, thank you for the kind response. How's your world?
Am deeply tired in a way that’s hard to explain, but yes trying not to overdo it
DS help? well, theoretically If he has time – generally translates as will do small bits and pieces if, and only after, I’ve done the bulk. Not a great situation tbh, but in his view helping look after aunts cats and talking to her a lot, and visiting me, has taken a great deal of his time and hurt financially, and tbf he is both very busy, and overworking as a result of ASd,and having little spare time.

Update: Wasn’t able to clear up at work, as other people’s current work is in front of mine and no wheelchair access, but left a note saying whoever created wheelchair access could have two large sacks of usable materials sitting there, so hopefully not an entirely wasted journey. Also left a book out for grabs. I’ve never read it, therefore it's surely neither needed, nor should I miss it!

Watered the bits of aunt’s garden that urgently needed it that I could get water to. (Apologized to cats for accidentally flushing them out of their forest!)

Today so far have cleared out vehicle and booked collection. Chucked half a black sack out from it, now have to figure out surviving contents.
Having a physical rest before starting emergency ‘first pass’ on jungle garden.

Well done for setting a book free! I am still on a slow declutter of my bookshelves, re-reading and only keeping if I love it and/or can see myself reading it again soon.

Is your aunt back at home now?

Our garden is also a jungle. I filled the garden waste bin last week so will aim to do that again before the next collection. Good luck!

Am deeply tired in a way that’s hard to explain

Emotional exhaustion?

I'm rooting for you. Fingers crossed you can turn your life back around again without making yourself more ill.

Everything is still slowly plodding along here in my corner of the planet. My mantra of "use it up and don't replace" is making a gradual difference

Hello, things moving along here, am managing to keep on top of tidying and doing some decluttering, and am moving forward with a builder to work on all the stuff that needs doing. Apart from delivery people, no one has been round for a year and I find having someone minutely inspect the grim reality really stressful. I can tell he's taken aback by some of it but we go cheerfully from room to room as if it's just another job. Anyway, it's progress, and an incentive to keep on.

hello all, I astounded myself by taking a large collection of old lightbulbs to the recycling point at B&Q today. I did succumb to a bank holiday plant offer while I was there
the weather has been very nice so I got several loads of laundry washed and line dried. Also read two books, both going in the donation box.
what have you been doing?
moonshaped well done for getting the builder in & hope it’s not too expensive.
bluesummerbaby slow plodding is good - progress with lower chance of burnout!

Moonshaped you're doing really well. Keep at it and the results will start to show

Miaowse I need summer clothes, the ones in my drawer of summer clothes don't work with my current lifestyle. So I looked around for a box that was in the way or a loose pile - there wasn't one! Progress. So I've gone for an old cardboard box at the bottom of a pile of other things, which is starting to collapse under the weight. Whatever is in there will be my new summer wardrobe. I haven't looked in it for ages so may be able to cull some things if they don't fit or become tatty over the summer. I know it's nothing precious so whatever, I'm going to wear them even if they're unsuitable and get damaged. I've got too many possessions so what does it matter. The alternative is it stays in its box and I buy some new clothes, which seems madness when I'm trying to reduce everything

How would you feel about letting go some of the unsuitable summer clothes from
the drawer? Or would that be too difficult? Hope you strike gold with the clothes in the box!